


Elbow Grease

by Dance_Elle_Dance



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Humor, Pepper Stares, Post-Iron Man 1, Romance, Shirtless Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 06:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4613913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dance_Elle_Dance/pseuds/Dance_Elle_Dance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Though it was strange to admit, Pepper couldn't tear her eyes away from him while he worked. Especially when he went shirtless to do it. (Originally posted on 5/16/10.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Elbow Grease

**Author's Note:**

> My first Iron Man fanfiction, re-posted from ff.net. I had so much fun writing this the first time and really wanted to transfer it over. Please enjoy!

Pepper tried to keep things professional between her and her boss.

Sometimes it was easier than others. Like when he was being a complete playboy. But other times, it proved quite hard to see where the line between worker and boss blurred.

Such as times like these.

The clinking sound of her heels as she maneuvered her way down the stairs was the only sound, other than the booming noise of Tony's music - some kind of rock, as usual. She sighed, and a light smile touched her lips as she heard some familiar lyrics. Humming along, she punched in the code to open the door to the workplace and the door whooshed open.

Stepping through, she looked across the place for the familiar figure she was searching for.

He wasn't visible at first. Which was strange, because he usually was. The car he was working on was blocking him from her sight.

"Hello?" she voiced quietly, but the music drowned her out.

She _clink-clinked_ over to the other side of the vehicle, clipboard in hand as usual, soft eyes searching for her boss.

Pepper paused for a moment when she came upon him. He still hadn't realized she was there, leaned over and…and…

_Oh…_

Times like these were the times when Pepper Potts both simultaneously loved and hated her job.

Hated, because well, he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to her and the rather important matters that she needed to talk to him about.

Loved, because… _who wouldn't_ love being faced with this on a semi-regular basis?

Pepper didn't announce her presence, for she was in her own little world at the moment. Her own little, awkward world. The clipboard felt very loose in her hands and her eyes didn't stray from the person she was outright ogling.

Tony Stark kneeled, shirtless and sweating, over some part of the car that she had no clue about how to identify. His eyes were studiously examining whatever it was, and his lips pursed ever-so slightly.

Pepper felt a chill race down her back, but it left her warm instead of cool.

His dark hair was matted with sweat, his equally dark eyes staring intently at the piece of equipment in front of him. He looked as if he were concentrating very hard at something, before he simply turned a knob on the device and placed it inside the hood of the car.

She tried not to linger on the way his arm muscles bunched and coiled as he had done that simple task, so she just cleared her throat and went back to looking at her papers.

That caused Tony to look up at her, an attractively quizzical look in his eyes as he looked Pepper up and down.

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

She was lost in those eyes for just a moment too long, and she felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Embarrassed at her unprofessional ogling of her hot boss, she looked down at her notes and said, "You just missed a meeting with the leader of SHIELD. I just thought you should know. You could probably still make it if - "

"No. Not going."

Her eyes narrowed. "And why not?"

"I'm Iron Man. He'll reschedule."

Her lips quirked despite herself, and she was about to say something else, but then he dipped down and started twisting something on the car. His arms bunched up once more and she couldn't help but rake her eyes over the sight of it. Her eyes moved down the length of his arm and focused on his strong chest, pectorals clenching as his arm moved. Her accurate eyes saw several beads of sweat roll down his neck and over his chest.

Tony rose, walking across the room to get something off a table that held various tools and parts of machinery. She was actually surprised he wasn't working on the Iron Man suit, and instead opted to work on a cute little black sports car that didn't look old at all. But that was the case with Tony, he usually found various ways to improve on anything and everything that wasn't manufactured and produced by Stark Industries.

She took this opportunity to gaze at his back, smooth and unmarred. The suit really did an excellent job protecting him, not that she had any doubt it would. Tony's skills in machinery were unmatched, and she knew the kind of unstoppable force that the suit was, due to his engineering. Still, when she saw her boss being shot at - even though he was being protected by a suit like that - it caused her heart to skip, hoping that there wasn't any holes in the armor.

There never were of course, but there are so many things that could go wrong…

Pepper shook her head slightly. This was not the time to think about that, of all things.

He turned back to her, the sweat glistening off his chest in a very, _very_ attractive way, Pepper noted.

Her eyes fixated on those taut muscles and somehow all of her thinking and planning on how to get Tony to fix up another meeting with SHIELD flew out of her mind.

A bead of sweat rolled down his collarbone, trailing across his broad pectorals, and then ran down the line in the center of his abs. That small, minuscule bit of moisture was possibly the most interesting thing Pepper had seen all day.

"Is that all, Miss Potts?"

Pepper smiled. "Yes, Mr. Stark."

She turned to leave, but Tony's voice caught her attention right before she was able to make her way to the door, "And Pepper?"

A chill ran down her back at the use of her first name. Of course, he did it often, but the sound of her name on his lips never ceased to give her a racing pulse and ridiculously girlish glee.

Pepper turned back around. "Yes?"

"If I were any less of a man, I would have already called you out on your ogling."

Pepper flushed the color of Iron Man's suit.

"But, as you know, I'm not just any man," Tony said, reaching up and scratching the scruff of his usually impeccably styled facial hair. He was teasing her, as he often did. And her blush only deepened, for she had no clue where he was going with this line of thought. "Any more uptight man would penalize you, I suppose, and I am not that kind of guy."

Pepper quirked a brow. What was he talking about? It sounded like a bunch of random gibberish. He had never penalized her for anything, and she guessed he was telling her that no one else would put up with her girlish staring? She wasn't sure. But it didn't seem like it. His eyes were kind, and there was a wry smile on his lips. His posture was relaxed.

"Because, maybe, just maybe, some guy wouldn't enjoy you staring at him - and the case is most quite the opposite with me, Pepper - " She blushed at that, and her heart skipped several times before settling down again. " - and maybe that guy would take away the car that he was rebuilding just for you."

Pepper paused, her eyes widening slightly.

_What did he just say?_

Tony looked amused at her unresponsive state. "What? You didn't know?"

"Know what, Mr. Stark?" She tried to stay as professional as possible, despite the rather unprofessional thoughts running through her head.

Tony smiled. It was a genuine, heart-achingly beautiful thing. "This car is for you."

Pepper tried to root herself into the spot where she stood, but to no avail. Eventually, she thought, _Screw being professional._ With that thought ringing in her head, along with Tony's words, she stepped forward and embraced the sweating, slick form of her boss.

She felt his arms wrap around her slender waist and she had to hold back a content sigh.

After a while, Pepper started to feel awkward, much like the time on the balcony when she was wearing the ridiculous dress and after they danced…

So she parted from him and looked him in the face, straightening her hair and fixating her eyes on his body. "I respectfully say _thank you_ , Mr. Stark."

Tony chuckled and pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "No problem."

She bent down and picked up her clipboard. As soon as she had fixed an expression on her face that wouldn't totally give her away - like the hug before didn't enough - she rose and looked at him, a small smile gracing her features. "And I'll tell the guy from SHIELD that you will reschedule?"

Tony nodded and turned back to her car.

 _Her_ car.

That _Tony_ was working on.

A delightful chill swept down her back, despite the heat around her. She turned on a heel and started to go back upstairs before she was stopped by Tony's voice saying her name yet again.

She turned, and Tony's eyes were playful and impish as he looked at her. "And, when this car is finished, please try not to wreck it."

Pepper felt the heat go to her cheeks again, a nervous twitter curled in her stomach and she smiled, giving an airy laugh. "Of course not, Mr. Stark."

He smiled and nodded, turning back to his work.

Pepper, a light hitch to her step and a grin on her face, walked up the stairs rather quickly. In addition to the excitement brought on to her by the notion of having a new car, she could still feel Tony embracing her. She could still feel the dampness where his sweat had rubbed off on her pristine clothes.

She didn't mind.

Not one bit.


End file.
